How to Make Pesto Out of Any Leafy, Green Herb

Verdant, peppery, bright green pesto is one of those things we could put on anything—heck, you could put it on a rubber shoe, and it’d probably still taste delicious. It’s usually made out of fresh basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and olive oil, but did you know you can actually make a pesto out of pretty much anything?

Use this easy pesto recipe with any leafy green thing

That’s right: You can make green pesto out of pretty much anything. All you need is a leafy herb (or a scrap, like radish leaves or carrot tops), a nut of your choice, and a salty grating cheese. This is a technique that comes in handy when basil’s not in season, and pine nuts are sold out or when you simply have too much of a green leafy thing. I can’t lay claim to the ratios—they’re a variation of a recipe I clipped from a flyer years ago—but they’ve been a saving grace whenever I need to get rid of an abundance of fresh herbs.

The basic ratio is 1:2:2:8 (1 part nuts, 2 parts oil, 2 parts grating cheese, 8 parts leaves or herbs), plus garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Allow me to demonstrate.

Directions:

1. First, start with a few cloves of garlic. One or two will do. Pulse it a few times until roughly chopped.
2. Throw in 2 packed cups of fresh leaves or herbs. Some starter suggestions: basil, cilantro, kale, carrot tops, parsley, spinach, mint, arugula (or a mixture of a bunch of things).
3. Add in 1/2 cup of oil. I usually use extra-virgin olive oil because I like the flavour, but you could experiment with any oil that has a pleasant but mild flavour, like avocado oil, flaxseed oil, or walnut oil.
4. Add in 1/4 cup nuts of your choice: pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, cashews… the options are endless. Toast them if you so desire.
5. Pulse and blend in your food processor (a blender will work in a pinch) until smooth.
6. Add in 1/2 cup of any grating cheese you’d like. In addition to Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, Asiago, Romano, Grana Padano, or Roncal would all work.
7. Blend until the cheese is just incorporated. Add in the squeeze of half a lemon, and season with salt and pepper. Taste and ask yourself: does it need more acid? More salt? More pepper? Do I want it to be thinner? (If so, just blend in a little more oil.) Then you’re done!

Add it to whatever suits your fancy. Of course it’s great tossed with pasta, but pestos are also a fantastic flavour booster when stirred into soups, tucked under chicken skin, or baked onto fillets of fish.